Andy_UP says:

Happy with my 6th in the championship. There was no way to finish higher for me. Thanks for organising and keeping score, that’s a lot work. I need a rest now… 😉

HalAir says:

I was quite apprehensive about this one, big distance and lot of climbing – but have done similar things before and know I am good for the duration, question is at what power⚡️

December have been filled with Muckers Races and Challenge routes on Rouvy, plus I signed up for the Rapha500 and consequently also Rouvy Festive 500, which Ventoux Circle was not part of….so December would be huge for me in terms of volume… Prior to this race I had completed 8 of the 9 Rouvy Festive500 rides, “saving” the last one for after Ventoux.. So the 36hrs I had of rest prior I carbed up, hard a good night of sleep and prepared a hefty “carb package” for this monumental ride, including plenty of drink!

I did a short “warm-up” on a downhill route prior to race start (only to set me up for a 1500km December month) and joined the start pen, ignorant of the suffering which was awaiting us.
Since my estimated duration for this ride was 5hr20mins I knew pacing would be key, so focused on a steady and manageable pace from the get-go. Once the groups settled in I found myself in 20th place or so, just doing my thing.. I was having some gearing issues as my front big ring is worn and getting out of the saddle, putting down more than 4w/kg would throw it off, which it did several times during the first 10k 🫠. I did consider swapping out to a different crankset prior to the race but chose not to, and regretted that now…
Anyways, managed to minimize the issue by being aware and “gentle” but I did loose my group, the two danes Grochang (?) and Niels (?) which had paired up and was chugging along. Off they went and I returned to my own pace, riding most of the time solo. My average power up the first ascent was 3,2w and the danes were more than 1km ahead of me, and I was in 23rd position on the crest.

On the “downhill” part of the route, middle section leading into the final and main climb, I focused on maintaining good power, hoping I could gain some ground. I pushed a little extra on the down and pushed harder on the smaller climbs, seeing distance to those ahead kept getting less and less 🤗.
During this time I passed a few that seemed to have stopped, so found myself in 19th place (IIRC) at the bottom of the final climb. I then caught up with the danes and started chasing BoogieBill which was now within striking distance, but my legs were starting to feel it now as cramps in calfs and quads were knocking on the door. Power up ahead seemed to be fading a little so I strives to constantly stay above that power level and hope the climb would give me enough time to pass a couple more… Patience did pay off, got past BoogieBill and now I had Stefan Smit up ahead, but he was still several hundred meters in front. Again I tried to stay above his power level, and distance did decrease but I think he just controlled it for the remainder of the climb. This climb is a killer, never have a single km felt longer than today, on this ride… so the 3-400m he had on me was never really challenged, but I had hopes and he did serve as a huge motivation for me to keep the pace up, all the way to the finish line. Boy was I happy when I rolled over the final crest and over the finish line, securing me 16th place. I probably spent another 5mins on the bike, before I pryed my torn body off from it, getting the sweat-soaked cycling kit off me… Some meager attempts to stretch my limbs where attempted, before treating myself with a nice warm bath. Oh the bliss 😀

An hr after the race, body still in shambles I ate a proper post-ride meal, and went direct to bed for the nite 💨
6:20am I was awake, entered Rouvy for my final Festive500 route, I was so not feeling for it 🤣
But got it done, 1hr20min at Z2 and did a 25km downhill route after that to get me past 1500km for December, Mission success 😀

December became my biggest month of the year, with the Muckers races and Rouvy Challenges, and not sure I am glad I jumped in on the Festive aswell, but it do feel extremely satisfying to have finished them all 🥳
Rapha Festive 500 – Did 708km
Rouvy Festive 500 – Did 504km
December overall – Did 1504km
11 races in Muckers December Championship, earning me the 10th position

First week of January will be entirely low zone work, so my body can soak up the training stress! 🤣
Thanks for the the races, hosting and arranging, the engagement from the Muckers community, wish you all a happy new year 💥

Nigel (Alladin Sane) says:

Hey Muckers, that was a journey of self discovery! As a newish cyclist I am pleased with myself for keeping going and finishing and I absolutely agree with Neil about having dnf’ers up the road as targets (especially a couple 10km from the finish by which point I was too far in to quit).
Some great performances.. Well done and happy New Year to all.. I hope to join you again in 2024.
PS. My endurance is alright (ultra running helps) but my power output is very low.. happy to hear anyones thoughts on the type of training required to move it up a few watts.

Mike Hagen says:

Up at the ungodly hour of 5:00 a.m. to be ready for the start which was at 6:30 a.m. on the west coast of North America. But I wasn’t going to miss it! Many kudos (and more than kudos) to Neil and Kyle for creating and organizing Muckers races and the whole MWW experience. It’s really great to get out for rides with so many friends. Always knew this one would be tough. It turned out to be brutal. Relatively easy start and ended up in a group full of familiar names, but the pace was just a little too hot to hold for five hours. Let go and rode with Lee (Berty-Bassett6) for a while. We caught up to Alex79WestFR after an hour then Lee upped the pace and took Alex with him; again, just a little too hot for me to hold for four more hours! That last 20 km climb (though I was trying not to think about it) was still there. Solo ride settled in at 26th place, but was moving up by passing foot-down avatars; clearly a lot of folk were glitching or withdrawing due to time pressure or other reasons. I began to think I had a shot at top 20. At Malaucene, started on my first can of Coke, and set off after those ahead; trying to hold 3 to 3.3 W/kg, just a little more than they were. It was so hard. I could see that nielsbrynnum was struggling (I could feel for him–he withdrew with just 7 km to go); I passed a couple other stopped riders; but Grochang was the man in my sights. Halfway up he was 800 m ahead, then 600! then 800 again (groan), then 400! Trying to hold 3+ W/kg, just a few tenths more than him. It was so hard. Finally, about 2 km to go, went around a corner and there he was, about 70 m up. Got to within 40 m, then he seemed to find another gear, and I had nothing left to respond with. I was shattered and shaking. Behind me, szwejk was safely a few hundred meters back, so I just survived the last bit, happy with my 19th placing. It was *so* hard. See you all in January!